Apparatus for carbonizing bituminous materials



A. J. MASON Oct. 23, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR CARBONIZINGBITUMINOUS MATERIALS Filed April 4. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 23, 1934. A. J. MASON I 1,978,139

APPARATUS FOR CARBONIZING BITUMINOUS MATERIALS Filed April 4, '1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizverzi or.

Oct. 23, 1934; A J, MASON 1,978,139

APPARATUS FOR CARBONIZING BITUMINOUS MATERIALS Filed April 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 23, 1934. Y A..J. MASON 1,973,139

APPARATUS FOR CARBONIZING BITUMINOUS MATERIALS Filed April 4, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. 23, 1934 H "1,978,139 I APPARATUS tron CARBONIZING BITUMI- NOUS MATERIALS Arthur J. Mason, Homewood, Ill.; Con'tinental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago executor of said Arthur J. Mason,

deceased Application April 4, 1939, Serial No. 441,547

r 3 Claims. (01. 202-.213)

The. present inventionrelates to improvements in the coking of bituminous materials, and, may beemployed in thetreatment of such materials, whether of a solid, liquid or semi-liquid character.

H; Thus, it may be employed in the coking of coals, oils, pitches, tars and the like. It may also be employed in the low temperature carbonizatio'n of coals. a o a l p By the use of thepresent invention, carbonizetion or coking of diverse materials, ranging from solid materials to liquid materials, may be effected continuously and economically, and the dimculties hitherto attendant upon such operaticnsby reason of thebuilding of coke deposits 1' on heated walls and consequent overheating or destruction of the latter are avoided. Theinvention will befully understood from the following description, illustrated by the accompanying drawings, inwhich: l

" Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of apparatus suitable for carrying the present invention into effect, forexample, in the coking of oil; i

"Fig. 2; is a transverse sectional view through the 25. device on the line-20f Fig. 1;

'Fig. 3is anenlargeddetail view in section showing the mounting of the support for the cleaner blade; i

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing the cleaning blade for removal of carbon deposits;

Fig. 5 is a sectionalview-of a modified heating device adapted for use in connection with the treatmentdf solid materials, such as coal; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of a modified dis- :351 charge device, suitablefor use in connection with the coking or carbonization of solid material, such o and also for the handling of the coke discharged as coal; I l l l The presentinvention willfirstbe described in connection with the coking of a liquid material, such as oil, and more particularly of acrude oil residuum such as may be secured'by thedis'tillation of acrude oil, suchas Mid Continent :oil, to effect the'removal of the lighterroil fractionsand' paraffin distillates. l V 1 Referring more :particularly'tothe drawinga in Figll; the numeral 10 indicates a furnace setting of suitable refractory material. This: furnace setting is so constructed as to provideaalongie tudinal chamber 11 through which the combustion gases, forexample, from the grate section 12, are caused to pass on the way-to the flue 13 leading to astack (not shown) In the elongated chamber 11 there is mounted the slightly inclined cylinder 14. The cylinder 14 projects at eachend '55' beyond therfurnacesetting, as willbe more fully hereinafter described. It is rotatably mounted on suitable supports 15' and 16 at each end of the furnace, rotation being imparted by any suitable means, such as the application of power to the ring gear 17. The higher end of the cylinder 14 is closed by a plate 18, which may likewise serve to support the ring gear 17. The plate 18 is provided centrally of the cylinder l l with. an opening provided with a stufiing box 20. Through this stuffing box there passes aheavy pipe or hollow trunnion 21, which is held stationary and is connected to the valved supply pipe 22, through which the oil to be coked is fed. This stationary pipe section or sleeve like wise serves as a supporting means for the cleaner blade, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter. At its opposite end, the cylinder 14 projects from the furnace setting 10 into a coke-receiving chamber 23, constructed of suitable refractory material. The end of the cylinder 14 passes through an opening 24 in this chamber, the latter being surrounded by a hollow, water cooled ringor collar 25 provided with an annular groove 26, in which is mounted a flexible hollow ring 2'7, through which a suitable cooling medium such as water may be caused to flow. The flexible hollow ring 2'7 maybe constructed, iorexample, of rubber. Aiiange ring 28 is mountedon the cylinder 1,4, to rotate withflthe latter, and this ring contacts with the flexible hollow member 27, thereby providing. a seal and preventing. undesired exit of gases from the coke-receiving chamber23 V The coke-receiving chamber23 is provided with suitable means for the removal of vapors and gases .resulting .from the carbonization process from the cylinder 14., 'Vapors and gases may be drawn off through thevalved pipe 30 leading to anysuitable condensing apparatus (not shown). Coke or carbonaceous material discharged from thecylinder '14 accumulates in the hopper-like bottom 31. of the chamber 23, the bottom being closedbyf the conical valve member32. The latter .is operated by meansyof a hollow stem 10;) 331projecting upwardly through a stuffing box 34 to the exterior of the chamber 23. Below the hopper bottom 31, the walls of the, chamber 23 are continued as hollow, water cooled walls 35, to liorm a cooling chamber 36. This cooling 1.05 chamber likewise terminates inva hopperbottom 37 closed bya conical valve 38, which isoperated by a valve stem 39 which projects upwardly throughthehollow stem 3370f the valve 32 tothe exterior of the receiving chambery23. The inner wall 36 of the cooling chamber 36 may be continued downwardly and enter a Water seal or pan 80 which may be removably supported by any suitable device (not shown). This seal is 5 moved downwardly and out of the way when removal of the coke is desired.

In carrying out the present invention, a cleaner blade 40 is provided within the cylinder 14 extending the entire length thereof. This cleaner blade is formed as a relatively thin strip of high speed tool steel, provided with a narrow cutting or shearing edge which engages the wall of the cylinder 14 along substantially its entire length. The cleaner blade 40 is mounted upon a firm support 41, which likewise extends the entire length of the carbonizing cylinder 14. The support 41 may suitably be formed as a heavy angle iron, provided at each end with a web 42, to which are secured pivot bolts 43 and 44. The pivot bolt at the entering end of the cylinder passes through an eye in the arm 45 attached to the pipe or trunnion 21. At the opposite end of the support, the corresponding pivot bolt 44 is mounted on an arm 46 attached to the rod 4'7, which projects into the receiving chamber 23 and is mounted in a suitable support 48 therein.

The pivot bolts 43 and 44 are so positioned that the side of the angle iron 41 constituting the support for the cutting blade 40 is more than coun- "terbalanced by the weight of the opposite side of the angle iron and as a result, the cutter blade tends to rise. The supporting member 41 is so positioned that the cutter blade 40 lies in the upper half of the cylinder, against its wall, as indicated clearly in Fig. 2. As a result of such positioning of the support 41 and cutter blade 40, and of the counterbalancing of the side of the support 41 carrying the blade, the latter is held in position against the wall of the cylinder. The action of the cutter blade, as hereinafter described, likewise tends to cause it to hug the wall of the cylinder.

The cutter blade is ground to a blunt edge somewhat similar tothat formed on a cutting tool,'the cutting edge extending longitudinally the entire length of the cylinder. Obviously, the cutter blade may be made in sections if a single length of suitable metal cannot be secured. The blade is ground to provide a relatively narrow lip surface 49 at'an angle to provide some clearance with respect to a radial line from the cutting edge 45 to the center of the cylinder. The cutting tool thus formed exerts a shearing action on deposits on the interior of the cylinder as the latter is revolved removing carbonaceous deposits and providing a clean heat-conducting surface. The'relatively narrow lip 49 of the cutting blade tends to divert and turn back such material as may be thus sheared off, and by the shearing action thus exerted, the lip surface of the cutting blade is kept clean. In practice, the lip 49 may be approximately /8 inch in width or less.

In carrying out the invention, for example, in

, the carbonization of heavy oil, such as a Mid-' The cylinder 14 is heated to provide a suitable coking temperature on its interior. To accomplish this, the cylinder may be heated by combustion gases ranging from 1100 to 1400 F. and the feed of the oil is controlled to secure the desired coking action. The cylinder 14 is slowly rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in the sectional showing in Fig. 2. The oil tends to travel down the cylinder 14, which is moderately inclined, and as it grows heavier, is carried upward around the wall of the cylinder to a greater extent. Any matter which adheres to the wall of the cylinder is cleanly sheared oif by the cutting blade 40, which thereby maintains a clean cylindrical surface on the interior of the chamber. The cutting blade 40 and its supports are sufliciently heavy and hug the cylinder wall so as to shear off carbonaceous deposits,

following such eccentricities as may exist in the cylinder wall. A clean, heat-conducting surface is thus maintained and thick or dense accumulations thereon are not permitted. Additional material may then contact with the surface thus cleaned, for further carbonization and the material of the deposits removed returns to the principal mass of material under treatment.

The material removed from the interior wall of the cylinder by the cutting blade 40 drops back into the lower portion of the cylinder for further heating and repetition of the process. As decomposition and coking continue, the carbonaceous material becomes harder and finally discharges from the cylinder into the receiving chamber 23 in small lumps. Vapors resulting from the decomposition of the oil pass out of the cylinder through the receiving chamber 23 and from the latter through the valved line 30 to a suitable condenser. system.

When a suitable amount of coke has accumulated in the receiving chamber 23, the cone valve 32 is lowered'and the coke is allowed to drop into the water-cooled chamber 35. When cooled sufficiently in the latter to avoid combustion, on later exposure to air, the cone valve 38 may be lowered (the cone valve 32 having previously been cooled) and the cooled coke from the lower chamber may be dropped to a conveyor or into a water bath or may be handled as otherwise desired.

In Figs. 5 and 6 respectively, feeding and discharge means are shown suitable for use when the apparatus is employed for the treatment of solid material, for example, for coking or for low temperature carbonization of coals.

Fig. 5 illustrates feeding means suitable for such use. In this figure, the numeral 50 indicates the upper or receiving end of a rotatable heating cylinder similar to the cylinder 14 in the embodiment of the invention hereinbefore described. On the cylinder 50 is mounted an end plate 51 provided with a central stufiing box 52, through which passes a cylindrical feed pipe 54 which receives the bituminous material to be carbonized from the hopper 55. This material,

for example, a bituminous coal, is ground and is fed through the pipe by means of the power driven screw 55 in the lower portion of the hopper 55, the screw projecting into the pipe 54.

Any suitable means are provided for preventing escape of gases from the feeding end of the 1 device. For example, in the form illustrated, the hopper 55 is surmounted by a chamber 56, and this in turn by a receiving hopper 57. Between the receiving hopper 5'7 and the chamber 56 is a plate 58 provided with a center opening closed by the bell 59, which is provided with a hollow stem 60. Between the chamber 56 and the feed hopper 55 is a plate 61 provided with a center opening, which is closed by the bell 62 provided with a valve stem 63 which passes through the hollow valve stem 60 of the bell 59. By lowering the bell 59, coal or other bituminous material is permitted to feed into the chamber 56. The bell 59 is then closed, and more coal fed into the receiving hopper 56, the valve and the coal serving as a seal. To feed coal to the hopper 55, the bell 62 is lowered, and coal may then discharge from the chamber 56 into the hopper 55. During such discharge, the bell 59 will be kept closed. After the hopper 55 has been supplied with the desired amount of coal, the bell 62 is closed, and the bell 59 may then be opened to discharge additional coal into the chamber 56, such coal acting as an aid in sealing the opening through the hopper 55 and preventing escape of gas.

The mass of coal packed in the pipe 54 by screw 55 likewise aids in sealing the device against escape of gas.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of the discharge end of the carbonizing cylinder suitable for use in the carbonization of coal or other solid bituminous material, for example, in conjunction with the feeding mechanism shown in Fig. 5. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the discharge end of the cylinder 50, which is similar to that of cylinder 14 as hereinbefore described, opens into a receiving chamber 65, substantially constructed with thick refractory walls 66. The lower portion of the chamber 65 is closed by a plate 67 provided with a central opening and protected by suitable refractory material 68. The central opening in the plate 67 is closed by the bell 69 provided with ahollow valve stem 70. Below the plate 67, is a second cooling chamber 71 with hollow, water filled walls 72. The chamber 71 is similarly closed at its lower end by a plate 73 provided with a central opening and protected by suitable refractory material 74. The central opening of the plate 73 is closed by the bell valve 75 provided with a valve stem 76 which projects upwardly through the hollow valve stem of the valve 70.

The receiving chamber 65 is provided with a gas vapor outlet 77, leading to suitable gas mains and washers.

The operation of the device with bituminous material is in general similar to that as already described with oil. The bituminous material, for example, a bituminous or semi-bituminous coal, is ground and fed into the rotating cylinder from the hopper 55 by means of the screw 55 and the feed pipe 54. fIhe cylinder 50 is maintained in slow rotation, and is heated by combustion gases at a temperature sufficient to give the desired carbonization. For low temperature carbonization and the production of an artificial anthracite, a temperature of 1200 to 1500" F. may be employed, whereas for more complete carbonization and the production of an ordinary coke, a higher temperature of say 1406 to 1800 F. may be employed. The rotation of the slightly inclined cylinder carries the bituminous material along, and any deposits adhering to the walls of the cylinder are sheared off by the cutting blade .in the manner hereinbefore described in connection with the carbonization or coking of oil or other liquid bituminous material. The resulting coke in lump form discharges into the receiving chamber 65, the gases and vapors resulting from the condensation passing out through the opening 77 to suitable gas mains and washers and the usual devices for handling such gases. The resulting coke may be removed by successive transfer from the chamber 65 to the chamber 71, in each of which cooling takes place, and from the latter to conveyors or to quenching pools (not shown) such as are ordinarily employed in handling coke.

In carrying the present invention into effect with both liquid and solid bituminous materials, the shearing actionof the cutting blade removes deposits from the internal wall of the heated cylinder. The narrow, rather blunt lip or back of the cutting edge of the blade turns back and breaks up the deposits as they are sheared 01f, and since the action of the blade is closely limited to a shearing or cutting action, any accumulation of carbonaceous material on the effective surface of the blade is avoided. A clean, smooth internal heating surface is maintained within the cylinder and consequently localized overheating or hot spots resulting from uneven deposition of carbonaceous material are avoided.

It is readily apparent that the invention may also be applied where the heated surface with which the bituminous material is contacted is stationary and the shearing or cutting blade is moved relative thereto to remove carbonaceous deposits and return the removed material to the main body or mass of material under treatment.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for carbonizing the bituminous material, a cylinder, means for externally heating the cylinder, means for rotating the cylinder, means for causing material to be carbonized to traverse the cylinder, a downwardly directed cutting blade having a narrow, shearing edge, means for applying said blade to a wall of said cylinder within the upper portion thereof, said means including pivotal supporting means for said blade, and means for counterbalancing the blade and thereby holding it in contact with the cylinder wall.

2. In apparatus for carbonizing bituminous material, a horizontal cylinder, means for externally heating the cylinder and means for rotating the cylinder, means for causing the material to be carbonized to traverse the cylinder, a downwardly directed cutting blade having a narrow, shearing edge, and means for applying said blade to a wall of the cylinder within the upper portion thereof, said means including an angular holder extending the length of the blade, the blade being attached to one side thereof, the opposite side of said angular support counterbalancing the blade-holding side thereof, and pivotal means for supporting said angular member whereby the blade contacts with the cylinder wall.

3. In coking apparatus, a cylindrical coking member, means for rotating the same, a receiving chamber into which said coking member opens, said receiving chamber having a wall provided with an opening through which the cylinder passes, a hollow,-annular ring surrounding said opening, means for supplying a cooling medium within said ring, the outer surface of said ring being provided with a groove, a flexible hollow ring insaid groove, a flange ring mounted on the cylinder and contacting with said flexible ring, and means for supplyinga cooling medium within said flexible ring.

ARTHUR J. MASON. 

